The Rt. Rev. Dr. Jacob Kofi Ayeebo, the Executive Director of the Anglican Diocesan Development and Relief Organization (ADDRO), has expressed gratitude to the organization's donors.
He said Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD), USAID, CORDAID among others had come to consider ADDRO as a strong partner because the organization had credible image following the strategies it adopted in providing services to the rural poor and marginalized.
The Executive Director said this during the organization's annual review meeting and end of year party held at Zebilla.
He said the expectation in 2011 was that staff of the organization would continue with their impressive work that had strengthened the relationship with its partners.
The Rt. Rev. Dr. Ayeebo, who is the Bishop coadjutor for the Anglican Diocese of Tamale, expressed regret about the economic down turn across the world and said it was seriously affecting development work because donor agencies provided most of the funds ADDRO operated with.
He said ADDRO was likely to cut down staffing and reduce some of its activities as well as revise others to suit current trends.
He said CORDAID is to stop its funding for ADDRO, adding that this is an institutional direction that the partner organization had taken.
The Executive Director said gender issues were serious in the three northern regions and retarded progress of especially women and the poor and it was ADDRO's wish that it got funding to continue to undertake gender issues in its working areas.
He said there were several challenges affecting women, families and children and that the gender office at ADDRO had been working hard to change perceptions, help to sensitize traditional leaders on some outmoded cultural practices and mediated in conflict situations.
The Rt. Rev. Dr. Ayeebo appealed to donor agencies, individuals and institutions interested in gender issues to come to the aid of ADDRO to continue with the programme "because it is a major area that needs immediate attention."
ADDRO operates in various areas including malaria prevention and control jointly funded by ERD under its NETforLife programme, USAID and partners, food security component and gender and development.
During the review session, it came up that most of the sections especially the Malaria Prevention and Control whose objective is to educate communities about malaria prevention and control had met their targets and beyond. The food security section had also performed well.